Murchison falls national park ferry crossing

Murchison falls national park ferry crossing : Murchison falls national park is located in north western part of Uganda 305 kilometers from Kampala and lies at the arm of the rift valley which stretches from lake victoria to Karuma falls and is one of the oldest national parks in Uganda in that it was gazetted in 1952. The park covers a total land area of 3840 square kilometers and harbors a wide range of wildlife species including 76 mammal species including the big four out of the big five mammals which are elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, other animals like hippos, Jackson’s hartebeest, bushbucks, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, oribi, crocodiles, primates like chimpanzees, vervet monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, bird species like the pre-historic shoebill stork, open billed stork, papyrus Gonolek, goliath heron, yellow billed stork, secretary bird, white faced whistling duck, silver bird, African darter, abdims stork among others.

Murchison falls national park is bisected by River Nile into two sectors that is the northern and the southern sector and in order to explore the whole park you will cross River Nile by a ferry which moves on daily schedules from one sector to the other

Ferry crossing prices

Passengers crossing to the other side will pay UGX 5,000
Motor cycles pay UGX 5,000
Light vehicles which are 2 tonnes and less pay UGX 20,000
Medium vehicles which are 2 to 5 tonnes pay UGX 40,000
Heavy vehicles which are 5 to 10 tonnes pay UGX 80,000
Very heavy vehicles which are 10 to 20 tonnes pay UGX 150,000
Vehicles in excess of 20 tonnes require special approval from the ferry crossing offices.
Vehicle drivers and school bus with students do not pay any amount during ferry crossing

Ferry crossing prices are for scheduled crossing of one way for transit and they are valid till 7:00pm. The ferry crosses from the northern sector to the southern sector and from the southern sector to the northern sector at different schedules which are 7:00am, 9:00am, 11:00am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm, 4:00pm, 6:00pm and 7:00pm and visitors who want special crossing will pay an additional amount of money to cross at their own time.

Ferry crossing in Murchison falls national park will help you to explore all the two sectors which offer thrilling and exciting safari activities including

Game drive, the game drive in the park is best done in the northern sector because that where you will encounter high concentration of wildlife. Game drive can either be done early in the morning or in the afternoon following game tracks such as Buligi, Albert and Victoria tracks. During the game drive you will be able to view animals like elephants, lions, leopards, buffaloes, waterbucks, bushbucks, Uganda kobs, giraffes, bird species among others therefore visitors who will be staying in lodges in the southern sector will cross River Nile with a ferry to the northern sector for the game drive.

Boat cruise, there are two boat cruise trips in Murchison falls national park for example the boat cruise upstream to the bottom of the falls and the boat cruise downstream to the Victoria Nile Delta. All boat trips in the park start from Parra jetty and the boat cruise to the bottom of the falls take about 2 hours while the boat cruise to the Nile delta takes about 3 to 4 hours. During the boat cruise you will enjoy beautiful scenery, explore the water as you cruise near the animals in water such as hippos, crocodiles and also view animals which will be drinking water on the water banks such as elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks among others. While on the boat trip you will view different water birds such as the pre-historic shoebill stork, northern red bishop, squacco heron, red throated bee-eater, swamp flycatcher, papyrus Gonolek, goliath heron among others.

Guided nature walk, nature walk is an adventurous activity where visitors on a safari in Murchison falls national park get an opportunity to walk on foot within the park as they explore the landscapes, beautiful scenery, animal species, bird species, primates like the chimpanzees, baboons, vervet monkeys, red tailed monkeys among others. nature walks in Murchison falls national park are carried out in different areas such as Rabongo forest, Kaniyo Pabidi forest in the southern sector, albert delta area among others.

Sport fishing, sport fishing is one of the unique activities in the park where anglers get an opportunity to catch fish while on a safari. Sport fishing in Murchison falls national park is carried out on Victoria Nile Delta and anglers will first purchase a fishing permit from Uganda Wildlife Authority which allows you to engage in the activity. During sport fishing anglers will use catch and release method and will catch fish types like the Nile perch, cat fish among others.

Chimpanzee trekking, this is the best done activity in Uganda after gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park. Chimpanzee trekking in the park is done in Kaniyo Pabidi which is situated in Budondo forest in the southern sector of the park. Chimpanzee trekking starts with a briefing about the expectations, rules and regulations and takes about 2 to 4 hours depending on the location of the chimpanzees because they like to move deep into the forest in search of food. Once the chimpanzees are found you will spend one with them in their presence and during this time you will be learning more about their habits, behaviors, recording the moments and taking plenty of photos.

Birding, Murchison falls national park is a home of over 450 bird species which makes it one of the best birding destinations in Uganda. Birding in the park is best done in the morning or late in the evening during the game drive, boat cruise in the northern sector, nature walk in Kaniyo Pabidi forest southern sector among others. Bird lovers on a birding safari will cross from the northern sector to the southern sector during the birding activity and will view bird species like yellow footed flycatcher, African pied wagtail, black kite, blue napped mouse bird, swamp flycatcher, chocolate backed kingfisher, yellow crested woodpecker, yellow spotted barbet, white spotted flufftail among others.

How to get to Murchison falls national park

Road transport, the park can be accessed through different gates which are found in both sectors such as Tangi gate, Wankwar gate, Chobe gate in the northern sector, Bugungu and Kichumbanyobo gate in the southern sector. You can either use public, private or self-drive to the park and you will drive from Kampala or Entebbe airport on Arua-Gulu road via Karuma-pakwach road to any of the park entrance which takes about 5 to 6 hours’ drive.

Air transport, Murchison falls national park can also be accessed by air transport where you will book domestic flights from Entebbe airport or Kajjansi airfield to Pakuba/Chobe airstrip in the northern sector or Bugungu airstrip in the southern sector.

Ferry crossing in Murchison falls national park give visitors an opportunity to explore thrilling activities in the northern and southern sector like chimpanzee trekking, game drive, boat cruise, sport fishing, nature walk among others which gives you unforgettable and fascinating experiences on your safari in Uganda.